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Robert Tear
Robert Tear (pronounced to rhyme with "beer"), CBE (8 March 1939 – 29 March 2011) was a Welsh tenor singer, teacher and conductor. He first became known singing in the operas of Benjamin Britten in the mid-1960s. From the 1970s until his retirement in 1999 his main operatic base was the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden; he appeared with other opera companies in the UK, mainland Europe, the US and Australia. Generally avoiding the Italian repertoire, which did not suit his voice, Tear became known in leading and character roles in German, British and Russian operas. Tear's concert repertoire was wide, extending from music from the 17th century to contemporary works by Britten, Tippett and others. He conducted for some years from the mid-1980s, but found himself temperamentally unsuited to it. As a teacher at the Royal Academy of Music he was happier, and was well regarded by colleagues and pupils. Life and career Early years Tear was born in Barry, Glamorgan, the son of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Commander Of The Order Of The British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established on 4 June 1917 by King George V and comprises five classes across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two of which make the recipient either a knight if male or dame if female. There is also the related British Empire Medal, whose recipients are affiliated with, but not members of, the order. Recommendations for appointments to the Order of the British Empire were originally made on the nomination of the United Kingdom, the self-governing Dominions of the Empire (later Commonwealth) and the Viceroy of India. Nominations continue today from Commonwealth countries that participate in recommending British honours. Most Commonwealth countries ceased recommendations for appointments to the Order of the British Empire when the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Rape Of Lucretia
''The Rape of Lucretia'' (Op. 37) is an opera in two acts by Benjamin Britten, written for Kathleen Ferrier, who performed the title role. Ronald Duncan based his English libretto on André Obey's play '. Performance history The opera was first performed at Glyndebourne in England on 12 July 1946. It is the first work to which Britten applied his term "chamber opera." The opera debuted in the United States on Broadway at the Ziegfeld Theatre in a production staged by Agnes de Mille which opened on 29 December 1948 and closed on 15 January 1949 after 23 performances. The cast notably included Giorgio Tozzi as Tarquinius, Kitty Carlisle as Lucretia, Lidija Franklin as Bianca, Brenda Lewis as the Female Chorus, and Adelaide Bishop as Lucia. In 1996 the opera was presented at the Opera Theatre of St. Louis directed by Britten expert and friend, Colin Graham. It also appeared in the Opera Company of Philadelphia's 2009 season. In 2013, the opera was performed for the first tim ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Owen Wingrave
''Owen Wingrave'', Op. 85, is an opera in two acts with music by Benjamin Britten and libretto by Myfanwy Piper, after a short story by Henry James. It was originally written for televised performance. Britten had been aware of the story since his work with Piper on his previous opera modelled after a James work, ''The Turn of the Screw'' in 1954. BBC television commissioned an opera for television from him in 1966 and, in 1968, he and Piper began work on the libretto. The work was completed by August 1970. The premiere was recorded at Snape Maltings in November 1970 and first broadcast on BBC2 on 16 May 1971. The music is influenced by Britten's interest in twelve-tone serialist techniques. A large tuned percussion section anticipates the musical treatment of his next (and last) opera, ''Death in Venice''. In addition to its being an expression of Britten's own pacifism, he was reported as saying that this opera was partly a response to the Vietnam War. The costumes were d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Royal Opera
The Royal Opera is a British opera company based in central London, resident at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden. Along with the English National Opera, it is one of the two principal opera companies in London. Founded in 1946 as the Covent Garden Opera Company, the company had that title until 1968. It brought a long annual season and consistent management to a house that had previously hosted short seasons under a series of impresarios. Since its inception, it has shared the Royal Opera House with the dance company now known as The Royal Ballet. When the company was formed, its policy was to perform all works in English, but since the late 1950s most operas have been performed in their original language. From the outset, performers have comprised a mixture of British and Commonwealth singers and international guest stars, but fostering the careers of singers from within the company was a consistent policy of the early years. Among the many guest performers have been Mar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Knot Garden
''The Knot Garden'' is the third opera by composer Michael Tippett for which he wrote the original English libretto. The work had its first performance at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, on 2 December 1970 conducted by Sir Colin Davis and produced by Sir Peter Hall. There is a recording with the original cast. Performance history The first American performance was in 1974 at Northwestern University, and the first German performance in 1987 at the Musiktheater im Revier in Gelsenkirchen. In 1984 Tippett authorised Meirion Bowen to create a reduced orchestration for a revival with the London Sinfonietta at the Wilde Theatre, conducted by Howard Williams. The reduced version has been revived six times, with productions in Britain, America, Australia, and Austria. There was a revival at the Royal Opera House in 1988, directed by Nicholas Hytner and, in 2005, Scottish Opera produced the opera for the Tippett centenary. Roles Synopsis Act 1 The psychiatrist Mangus introduc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Idomeneo
' (Italian for '' Idomeneus, King of Crete, or, Ilia and Idamante''; usually referred to simply as ''Idomeneo'', K. 366) is an Italian language opera seria by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The libretto was adapted by Giambattista Varesco from a French text by Antoine Danchet, based on a 1705 play by Crébillion père, which had been set to music by André Campra as '' Idoménée'' in 1712. Mozart and Varesco were commissioned in 1780 by Karl Theodor, Elector of Bavaria for a court carnival. He probably chose the subject, though it may have been Mozart. The work premiered on 29 January 1781 at the Cuvilliés Theatre in Munich, Germany. Composition The libretto clearly draws inspiration from Metastasio in its overall layout, the type of character development, and the highly poetic language used in the various numbers and the ''secco'' and ''stromentato'' recitatives. The style of the choruses, marches, and ballets is very French, and the shipwreck scene towards the end of act I is a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition resulted in more than 800 works of virtually every genre of his time. Many of these compositions are acknowledged as pinnacles of the symphonic, concertante, chamber, operatic, and choral repertoire. Mozart is widely regarded as among the greatest composers in the history of Western music, with his music admired for its "melodic beauty, its formal elegance and its richness of harmony and texture". Born in Salzburg, in the Holy Roman Empire, Mozart showed prodigious ability from his earliest childhood. Already competent on keyboard and violin, he composed from the age of five and performed before European royalty. His father took him on a grand tour of Europe and then three trips to Italy. At 17, he was a musician at the Salzburg court ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gordon Crosse
Gordon Crosse (1 December 1937 – 21 November 2021) was an English composer. Biography Crosse was born in Bury, Lancashire on 1 December 1937, and in 1961 graduated from St Edmund Hall, Oxford with a first class honours degree in music, where his tutors included Egon Wellesz. He then undertook two years of postgraduate research on early fifteenth-century music before beginning an academic career at the University of Birmingham. Subsequent employment included posts at the Universities of Essex, Cambridge and California. He won the Worshipful Company of Musicians' Cobbett Medal for services to music in 1976. For two years after 1980 he taught part-time at the Royal Academy of Music in London but then retired to his Suffolk home to compose full-time. Crosse first came to prominence at the 1964 Aldeburgh Festival with ''Meet My Folks!'' (''Theme and Relations'', op.10), a music theatre work for children and adults based on poems by Ted Hughes. Hughes would also provide the lyric ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Prodigal Son (Britten)
''The Prodigal Son'' is a music drama by Benjamin Britten with a libretto by William Plomer. Based on the Biblical story of the Prodigal Son, this was Britten's third "parable for church performance", after ''Curlew River'' and ''The Burning Fiery Furnace''. Britten dedicated the score to Dmitri Shostakovich. The first performance took place on 10 June 1968 in St Bartholomew's Church, Orford, Suffolk. The instrumentalists included the horn player Neill Sanders and the percussionist James Blades. Colin Graham was the stage director. The United States premiere was presented at the Caramoor Summer Music Festival on 29 June 1969 with Andrea Velis as the Tempter/Abbot. As with the other church parables, the instrumental forces are very modest: flute, horn, viola, double bass, harp, organ and percussion, with the use of the alto flute and small trumpet in D marking changes compared to the other works. The percussion also incorporates a gourd rattle. Roles Synopsis The story ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Burning Fiery Furnace
''The Burning Fiery Furnace'' is an English music drama with music composed by Benjamin Britten, his Opus 77, to a libretto by William Plomer. One of Britten's three ''Parables for Church Performances'', this work received its premiere at the St Bartholomew's Church, Orford, Suffolk, England, on 9 June 1966 by the English Opera Group. Colin Graham was the stage director of this first production. Set designs were by Annena Stubbs. The United States premiere was presented at the Caramoor Summer Music Festival on 25 June 1967 with Andrea Velis as Nebuchadnezzar. The scale and manner of instrumentation are similar to those in ''Curlew River'', but one notable difference is the use of the alto trombone. Clifford Hindley has commented on a reading of a subtext sympathetic to homosexuality on the part of both Britten and Plomer in their treatment of the story. Roles Synopsis ''The Burning Fiery Furnace'' tells the story of Nebuchadnezzar (the historical Nebuchadnezzar II) and t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Turn Of The Screw (opera)
''The Turn of the Screw'' is a 20th-century English chamber opera composed by Benjamin Britten with a libretto by Myfanwy Piper, "wife of the artist John Piper, who had been a friend of the composer since 1935 and had provided designs for several of the operas". Kennedy, Michael, "Benjamin Britten", in The libretto is based on the 1898 novella ''The Turn of the Screw'' by Henry James. The opera was commissioned by the Venice Biennale and given its world premiere on 14 September 1954, at the Teatro La Fenice, Venice. The original recording was made during January of the next year, with the composer conducting. Described as one of the most dramatically appealing English operas, the opera in two acts has a prologue and sixteen scenes, each preceded by a variation on the twelve-note 'Screw' theme. Typically of Britten, the music mixes tonality and dissonance, with Britten's recurrent use of a twelve-tone figure being perhaps a nod to the approach of Arnold Schoenberg. Themat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aldeburgh Festival
The Aldeburgh Festival of Music and the Arts is an English arts festival devoted mainly to classical music. It takes place each June in the Aldeburgh area of Suffolk, centred on Snape Maltings Concert Hall. History of the Aldeburgh Festival The Festival was founded in 1948 by the composer Benjamin Britten, the singer Peter Pears and the librettist/producer Eric Crozier.Aldeburgh Town Council Retrieved 7 March 2019.Archives Hub Retrieved 7 March 2019. Their work with the (which they h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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